The City of Lexington, in partnership with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT), has completed the Environmental Analysis (EA) for the Lexington Multimodal Transportation Station project. This project will reestablish passenger rail service for the region by developing a stop in Lexington’s Depot District near the Uptown District. The station will provide a passenger rail stop along the Raleigh-Charlotte corridor for commuters and travelers in order to connect Lexington to the education and job centers located along the corridor, and to allow tourists to visit Lexington via train. This stop will provide for connections between rail and regional/local bus service.

The EA is a requirement of the National Environmental Policy Act (1970) for projects of this level that require a federal permit and/or federal funding. The purpose of the EA is to evaluate the project’s impact on the community relative to water and air quality, noise, fish and wildlife (endangered species), historic and natural resources, equality and justice, etc. EAs typically take two to three years to complete and require many on-site surveys with technical documentation. This EA was funded by a grant from the USDOT. A significant portion of the work was dedicated to working and negotiating with the North Carolina (State) Historic Preservation Office to develop a Memorandum of Understanding relative to impacts on historic resources within the project area. This Memorandum of Understanding is part of the EA and is included as an attachment. The EA has now been reviewed by the Federal Railroad Administration and is ready for approval. However, the City and FRA wish to make the document available to the public for review prior to final execution. If you have any questions or comments relative to this document, please call or text Tammy Absher, Director of Business and Community Development for the City of Lexington, at (336)479-0122 or by email no later than October 24, 2016.

Please click on links, below to access the documents:

Environmental Analysis Document  
Appendices: Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5